This digest draws unique perspective from the two major sections of Scripture; the Old and New Testaments; as touching on the Lord's manifest expression within either section in an effort to best explain how God's nature (His inner being) within the New Testament serves as the fuel behind His surpassing glory (His outward display) which has been demonstrated all across the Old Testament. This should then enable us obtain a better understanding on the source of true human strength (for we are made in the image of God).
As I studied through Jeremiah 51 today, picking vivid depictions of the Lord's mighty acts of power over the kingdom of the day at the time; the Babylonian Empire; something profound landed in my spirit. I realized that the Old Testament is more often than not all about the Lord displaying His unsurpassed glory (His tremendous power and goodness) while on the other hand, the NT provided a platform through which He was able to reveal to us His nature; His deep-seated holiness in being that works inwardly so as to enable Him display such an unmatched set of outward attributes. Let's take this simple instance: the Lord in the OT has an unmatched ability to fight for and deliver His people because He is able (within the NT) to lay down His life as a complete sacrifice only to take it up again once the price for defeating evil is paid in full. God's glory in this case; as already hinted, becomes the outward display that is backed up by an inward state of holiness [Like a good teacher said, on the back-end of glory is holiness; perfect (outward) glory is inseparable from perfect (inner) holiness].
In this case, holiness simply means being true to or one-minded with one's original identity to the extent that one allows no room for compromise even in the face of insummountable opposition. Holiness will mean a death sentence if it has to as long as the heart remains without blame - here, God is able to meet the inwardly-uncompromising one with a matching, perfected outward glory which will indeed be revealed during our physical resurrection on earth. Thus, true human glory is backed up by the inner strength of holiness and the fear of God while false human glory is upheld by mere outward apperance. A true king is a king on the inside; not just on the outside. The Lord is the only true King there is; He is perfect from the inside-out.
Where, then, do you draw your strength from?
Strength isn't just tied to manual lifting; it is also tied to the expression of any other positive attribute that has been afforded every individual by the Source of the same (God): laughter, love, peace, satisfaction, kindness, humility, etc. In this case, do you laugh because of genuine warmness emanating from the inside or do you laugh at others' misfortune? Additionally, do you love because it naturally comes to you from God (the Source) who is at work within you or do you outsource your love from tangible experiences with other people or things? Last but not least, are you content because deep down, you're after satisfying the healthy appetites afforded us by the Spirit of God or do you perpetually seek satisfaction from all manner of acquired appetites; whether beneficial or harmful? (This list of questions can go on and on)
Without a hint of doubt, only two areas exist from which a human being can draw his or her strength from: outward beauty (or attributes) or inward beauty (or attributes). There is no in between; at least for anyone who is real with him or herself. Outward beauty was never a part of God original idea when He made man in His image and likeness. If it were, then we would have been made of gold, silver or any other precious stone but rather; He chose to lift us up from the dust: dust that is constantly blown away by the wind. We resemble God spiritually; not physically. Our bodies only enable us to bear God's image with convenience as this suits our role of representing Him on earth with the full capacity of dominion (Genesis 1:27).
The option of drawing one's strength from outward appearance was a deception that originated from the devil when he captured Eve in her most vulnerable state: away from the one who made her whole physically, this being Adam. Indeed, I believe that isolation played a significant role in bringing about Eve's misleading - it must have left her with one or two burning questions about her identity (which were only meant to be answered either directly by God or still; by God through Adam) which the devil sensed as an opportunity to present alternative solutions to Eve's apparent troubles (she was indeed isolated and "naked"; without the covering of the man; during critical decision-making). This deception was then revealed to her as a kind of wisdom; the knowledge of good and evil which made her realize that she could draw beauty from her outward looks just as much as she could draw it from her inner self. Indeed, she must have also been told that she could also draw satisfaction from puffing herself up with all manner of natural foods just as much as she could be able to draw inner satisfaction from learning God's truth (I mean, she realized that she could lust just because it was a natural sensation built into her dust-body and that she could also disobey without obvious immediate effect on her physical body just because she had an independent will, didn't she?). I mean, how about this for deception!
Again, where do you draw your strength(s) from?
Taking a closer look at Scripture with relation to God's unique manifest nature within the Old and New Testaments, I have been able to draw up these conclusions:
- God is a King at heart (New Testament) and then a King on the outside (Old Testament)
- God is a Servant at heart (serving His life to all creation within the New Testament) and then Master/Lord on the outside (over the entire physical universe - Old Testament)
- God is the Source/Father of all existence at heart (New Testament) and then Eternal Creator on the outside (Old Testament)
- God is a Healer (restorer) at heart (New Testament) and then a Maker on the outside (Old Testament)
- God is a Priest/Advocate at heart (New Testament; this owes to His holiness) and then a Righteous Judge on the outside (Old Testament)
- God is a Saviour at heart (New Testament) and then a Warrior/Deliverer on the outside (Old Testament)
- God is ever present within Himself and His being at heart (true to Himself - New Testament) and then an Omniscent God on the outside (Old Testament)
To this end, this digest is a call to genuine reflection. Seeing who you were made to be originally, can you say that you are true to yourself? Are you single-minded to the extent that you won't allow any room for compromise in the face of insummountable opposition? Can you be able to stand the death sentence if it is to serve as the final way for you to stand for your cause? Again, where do you draw your strength(s) from?
